


you still got caffeine running through your veins

by konfoz



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, Coffeeshop AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 14:19:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14022123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konfoz/pseuds/konfoz
Summary: a coffeeshop au where Rey is forced to deal with Ben under complicated circumstances (and a scheming mom)





	you still got caffeine running through your veins

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally going to be apart of my one-shot collection, but I just kept writing and writing and I decided to post it as a standalone.
> 
> Title inspired by "So Tied Up" by Cold War Kids

Even though waking up at the ungodly hour of four in the morning may seem like hell for some, Rey started her day with a smile on her face and full of pent-up energy. She never minded switching shifts with Finn when the work schedule came out, especially since he didn’t fall asleep until three in the morning every night anyway.

The coffee shop didn’t open until six, but Rey took her time getting ready. Maybe it was because she couldn’t afford these luxuries as a kid, or because she knew she didn’t have to rush out of the door. The shop was only a five minute walk from her shared apartment with Finn.

Rey sat up in her bed, her white duvet and pillows strewn haphazardly around her. She cracked her neck and glanced at the glass doors that leads to her connected balcony, and noticed that it was dark and raining. Silently padding out of her room, she entered the connected bathroom to get ready for her day.

* * * * *

If there was one thing that Rey hated about the morning shift, it was the walk from the apartment to the coffeeshop. She was physically fit; late-night kickboxing sessions at the gym helped to keep her in shape, but it was the cold that really got to her. Growing up in a hot climate never really prepared her for the brisk morning wind and rainy season.

Although she had her umbrella to shield her from the rain, water started to permeate into her worn-out standard work shoes. She needed new ones, but barely had enough money to pay her share of the rent. Instead, she made sure to avoid any more puddles.

The smell of wet asphalt tickled her nose, so she pulled her wool scarf up higher. When the shop was in her line of sight, her sigh of relief warmed the inside of the scarf and bounced off her cheeks.

Solo Cup Coffee, run by the brooding Han Solo and the elegant Leia Organa-Solo, was a standard coffee shop wedged in between a deli on the street and a local cleaners. It’s been around for a long time, but it still remained the same after all of these years. There was nothing fancy or particularly original about it, but it always sent a shot of safety through her body. To her, home and comfort come in the forms of delicious coffee and warm goodies.

Rey unlocked the faded blue door with the keys she snatched out of Finn’s backpack, and quickly scurried inside to avoid any rain from sneaking in. As soon as the door shut behind her, she was swathed in darkness. The only light came from the small lightbulb in the back behind the counter, so she walked straight toward it to bathe the rest of the place in light. As soon as she hung up her bag and jacket in the back, her umbrella long forgotten at the bin in front of the store, she started to prepare the shop for the morning customers.

* * * * *  
  
Leia came in a few hours after opening, a cell phone in her ear and a folder tucked under her arm. She nodded at Rey, who was stationed at the espresso machine, as she made her way to the back, affirming information to whoever was on the other line.

Turning back to macchiato she was making, she topped it off with foam and closed the lid, yelling out the order on the cup. The shop started to get crowded, and Rey let out a mental sigh of relief when she started to take orders and Rose slipped in to begin her overlapping shift a second later.

They shifted positions every once and a while, but Rey let Rose step out after Leia called her name from behind the “Employees Only” door. After finishing an Americano for a Maz, a sweet and direct old lady who always brought in her dog, Rey slipped the Sharpie behind her ear to take the next customer in line.

“Hello, how are you today?”

“Fine,” replied a disgruntled voice, “I’ll take a large flat white, and I need to speak to your manager, please.”

Rey scrutinized the man in front of her, taken-aback by his last statement. His beanie-clad head was tilted down as he typed out something on his Blackberry. He wore a maroon long sleeved shirt and dark jeans.

The barista gulped, and plastered a smile on her face as she took down the order. “Is there anything I can help you with, Sir?”

“No I just need to speak with your manager.”

“Well Mr. Solo comes in only on Thursdays, and Mrs. Organa-Solo is extremely busy right now, but if you have a complaint I can take down any comments you may have.”

“I have a matter I’d like to discuss with her, face-to-face.” He looked up this time, a flicker of annoyance passing over his features and seeping into his tone.

She wasn’t fooling anybody with the fake smile that strained her face, but it didn’t look like the customer was going to let up anytime soon. In order to assuage him and keep the line moving, she nodded her assent as she murmured a quick, “One moment please”, her body language stiff and knuckles tightening into fists.

Luckily, Rose exited the back area as soon as Rey rung up the next person, so she switched places with her to inform her boss about the interaction that stirred her mood.

Rey peeked her head into the door, to make sure she wasn’t interrupting something important. “Mrs. Organa-Solo?”

Without looking up, Leia waved her in all the way, writing down something on a notepad. The back room was basically the size of a small kitchen, with a set of cabinets where workers stashed their personal items as they worked, and a small round table in the center for breaks. Leia was in her usual seat around the small table, but Rey made no move to sit down.

“There’s a customer outside who insists on talking to you.”

She glanced up and said, “Let me guess: another sucker who’s complaining about not getting enough shaved chocolate flakes on their whipped cream.”

One of Rey’s dimples appeared, amused but not enough to smile fully. “No, he ordered and simultaneously demanded me to get you. He probably won’t leave until you speak with him.”

Leia rolled her eyes, “I know exactly who it is. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him.” She went back to her notepad.

Rey left her to her own devices and started on the flat white while Rose manned the cash register. Sparing a glance over one of the coffee machines, Rey noticed that the mysterious man was seated in the very left corner, right next to the front window. He was just staring outside, oblivious to the looks that the barista was shooting at him while she added the finishing touches.

“Large flat white!” Rey exclaimed, setting it on the counter and turning back to the orders that were beginning to stack up.

For such a large man, he got up and grabbed his cup so silently that Rey didn’t realize he picked it up until he was walking back to his seat. From then on, she made it a point to keep an eye on him out of suspicion.

Not even a minute later, the boss herself glided out like a queen. She didn’t even need to stop and question who exactly called for her, which Rey found particularly interesting. Making her way to where the man was seated with his coffee, she sat down in the seat across from him and leaned in close.

By now Rey was definitely intrigued, especially since they continued to converse for a solid five minutes. She could tell from where she was making a cappuccino that Leia looked resigned and the stranger seemed upset. From his tense body language and hand gestures, Rey could guess that he raised his voice a few notches, but the conversations of the patrons in the shop and sound of the machines smothered it.

Suddenly, he got up and left. She turned to Leia with a frown, noticing how the petite woman seemly gained years of stress from that conversation alone.

* * * * *

Two days later, when Rey came in for her noon shift, Leia stuffed a small, nondescript cardboard box in one hand and a scrap of paper in the other. Ushering her out the door, Rey barely got a word in before the blue entrance slammed in her face.

An address was written on it, so Rey mapped the destination in her phone and began her trek. Precipitation clung to the buildings as she passed by, but the rain from earlier that morning had been replaced by the sunshine.

_At least I won’t have to worry about getting soaked._

The place was about half a mile away from Solo Cup Coffee, so Rey took in the surroundings of the town she loved and added a little bounce to her step. It wasn’t unusual for Leia to send her to pick up extra milk from the market, but delivering packages was new. Before long, she arrived at a black, old style shop with a wooden board sign that made surprise flit through Rey’s body.

The First Coffee Order.

She had heard of the rival shop beforehand from Finn, distaste clear in his tone. Apparently he used to work there before Rey met him, and he didn’t have any nice things to say about his coworkers or the boss. He has described the aesthetics of the coffee shop briefly, but just from the rustic outside she could tell it was a typical hipster place.

Wondering why Leia sent her here with the mysterious box in her hand, she stepped through the glass door and into the smell of freshly ground coffee beans. The entire shop had wooden furniture and counters, with exposed brick walls. An entire one was dedicated to a chalkboard menu, with drink names that confused Rey and French pastries she couldn’t pronounce. Behind the cashier stood an imposing giant brass coffee machine, the light reflected off of it from the bared bulbs.

Slowly, she shuffled to the counter and tried not to look like a mouse in a lion’s den. A hostile-looking redhead manned the front, and when it was Rey’s turn, he didn’t so much as smile at her.

“Uh, I have a package.”

He glanced down at it and it looked like he was trying not to scoff. “Obviously.”

This man didn’t know what customer service was. “It’s from L--”

“If you’re not ordering anything, I must ask you to step out of the line,” he interrupted her, “I have paying customers to attend to.”

Rey was seeing red. “Listen: I just have to drop off this package and then I can get out of your hair, ok?”

“I don’t have time for this, just wait over there if you’re not going to leave-”

“Take the damn box you self-entitled prick or I swear I will shove it up your-”

“Excuse me, Miss,” a smooth voice cut in, “I can help you with anything you may have.”

She turned to her right to be met with the man that demanded to see Leia. He must have remembered her too, as recognition flashed in his eyes. Relaxing when he realized that he’s spoken to her before, he beckoned her over to an empty table towards the back that was hidden in the shadows. Rey sat down wearily, still reeling over the encounter she had with the worker.

The man sat across from her, and he gave her a fleeting smile. “I apologize for Hux, he’s not one to be patient.” He stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Ben.”

Rey took it and murmured, “Rey”.

Suddenly he dropped his smile and held her eyes with his, “I’m sorry for the way I acted the other day. I had an urgent matter I had to discuss with my mother.”

The wind rushed out of Rey, and she stared at him incredulously. “Leia is your _mom_?”

He pursed his lips, “Well I imagine that she might have told you, since you are delivering my personal belongings to me,” he said with a glance down to the box that she was still holding.

As if it were going to burn her, she thrust it in his hands. As he ripped off the tape and peeked inside, Rey stammered, “I had no idea.”

Satisfied with the contents, he closed it and stuck it underneath his arm--bulging in a way that the woman in front of him was trying not to stare at. He stood, and she ripped her gaze away when he offered her a coffee.

“I’m good, thanks. I really should be getting back.”

Silence ensued for a few seconds, but Ben broke it after one nod, “Alright. Thanks for bringing me my stuff.”

* * * * *

In the weeks that followed, Rey made trips between Solo Cup Coffee and The First Coffee Order for Leia and Ben. Even though she didn’t mind it, Rey always refused Ben’s coffee offers. He asked her every time she walked through the door, and if anything it made her want to run out while her stomach flipped and a blush stained her cheeks.

Apparently, he had moved out of his parent’s house pretty late, something he wasn’t embarrassed to say. He went to college somewhere out of the state, and when he moved back he stayed with his parents until he opened his own coffee shop. There was some tension between Han and Ben, Leia had told her, but wouldn’t elaborate on it. Ben decided it was about time to move into the loft above his shop, and he still had some personal belongings left from Leia and Han’s place.

So Rey acted as a weird mediator between the family, even if she didn’t necessarily want to be apart of their drama.

Most of the time, Leia was the one to give Rey the boxes of his stuff. Every once in a while it was Han, and he never said much when he did. She didn’t know why Ben couldn’t get his own stuff from his old house.

Rey brought it up to Leia one day, “Can’t Ben just grab everything from you?” She flailed for an extended explanation when Leia glanced at her. “I mean, they’re his belongings!”

Leia gave her a secretive look that immediately put her on edge. Leia was plotting something, and Rey knew that never ended well for the other party.

She even brought it up to the man in question one day during her weekly endeavors. He was drying off a copper mug in the sink behind the counter, so Rey slinked back there to hand him the latest package.

“I’m usually busy with the shop, and I’m not on the best terms with my father.”

“What happened?” Rey asked, forging common decency.

However, Ben didn’t seem to mind, “He didn’t want me to open up my own place. I majored in International Relations, like him, but he wanted more for me than I did for myself.” He gestured to the shop around him, “This place is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it.”

A bit irked from their conversation, Han pulled her aside when she stomped back into Solo Cup Coffee to resume her shift.

“I take it you spoke with Ben.”

“He’s so,” Rey threw her hands up in exasperation, “Inconsiderate!”

Han shrugged, “Even though I rarely speak with him right now, he’ll always be my son. Not only in name too.” He smirked. “I’m proud of him for sticking it to me at the right time, but I would never admit it to his face.”

The next day, Leia appeared almost out of nowhere as Rey was finishing off a particularly complicated order.

The woman pulled an envelope from inside her blazer and handed it to the girl, “Please give this to my son when your shift ends.”

Glancing up at the clock, Rey’s eyebrows furrowed, “But I’m not done until nine tonight.”

Another sly smile, “That’s perfect actually. Just deliver it when you’re done”

She knew there was more than what Leia was letting on, but did as her boss bid. Later that night, after all the customers had already left and Leia was long gone, she closed up the shop and began the memorized walk to the other coffee shop. It was dark and chilly outside, and she gripped the edges of her jacket and pulled them in closer to keep the warmth from escaping. Because it was a Friday night, restaurants were filled with patrons and the clubs were beginning to let people in. Rather than giving an eerie glow, the streetlights added to the ambience of the night. It was as if everyone was out and about.

As expected, the shop was closed when she arrived. Cupping her hands up to the glass to focus her vision, Rey noticed that Ben was alone, sweeping the floors with a broom with little light illuminating the shop. Her stomach flipped, and she knocked on the glass door to be let in.

Ben looked up, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He unlocked and held the door open for her, and she muttered a small, “Thanks”, before walking in to be met with the smell of cleaning supplies.

The sound of the boisterous city followed her in, but when Ben shut the door behind her, they were truly alone.

Suddenly nervous to be in such close proximity with him, she handed Ben the envelope and turned away to put some space between them. The man in front of her didn’t seem to notice. His was looking at the object in confusion, turning it over in his hand to examine.

He held it up, “From my mother?”

Hands together, Rey nodded, “Yeah, she didn’t say what it is, but it’s probably bills or something.”

He walked to the front to put away the broom and Rey followed, their bodies separated by the counter. She picked at the gift cards on display while the sound of paper ripping filled the empty store, and after a few seconds of silence Rey glanced up at him to watch him unfold what looked like a letter. He seemed to have gone still.

Concerned and curious about the contents of the letter, Rey asked, “Ben? Are you alright?”

His eyes scanned the document, but his face didn’t give anything away.

By now Rey was worried, “Is it about your house? Or the shop?”

As if remembering she was there, his eyes flashed to hers. The intensity in them stole her breath away, but she couldn’t read his emotions from the darkness of the shop. The air seemed electrified with the stare he was pinning her, and Rey couldn’t look nor move away.

She licked her lips, “Is something the matter?”

He leaned his arms against the counter, still staring at her. “Do you know why my mother always sends you here to bring me my stuff?”

Thrown off by the question, she said, puzzled, “Isn’t it because of what’s going on between you and your dad?”

“Originally,” Ben stated, “But I told my mother weeks ago that I could just pick up everything by myself, but she insisted on making you do it.”

Now she was really confused, “Why would she do that?”

He held out the letter to her, “Read it. It’s a note from her.”

Their fingers brushed during the exchange, and Rey swore her hand shook when she gripped the edges of the paper.

_Son,_

_You truly are an idiot._

Rey laughed, but when she looked up at Ben, his face was closed off.

_I’d like to say that you inherited it from your father’s side of the family, but let’s be honest: Us Skywalkers aren’t the brightest in the galaxy when it comes to matters such as these._

_I did all I could, but if you don’t fess up then you might as well swear yourself to the life of a hermit, like your uncle._

_You’re stubborn, arrogant, hot headed, but you’re also incredibly insecure and lonely._

Rey bit her lip, “Maybe I shouldn’t read this.”

Ben crossed his arms, “Keep reading.”

_You deserve happiness. And I know that you can find it in Rey._

She froze, staring at her name. Her heart missed a beat.

_I’m sure you’re shocked, since you keep your feelings hidden well enough. If you thought that your own mom would miss something as important as this, then you really don’t give me enough credit._

_Now stop wasting time or I swear on your grandfather’s grave I will cut off your hand._

_Kisses,_

_An impatient mother_

Rey finished, then reread the entire thing again. She didn’t want to look up at Ben, afraid of what would greet her. She swallowed, and she could hear her blood pumping in her ears. When she finally tore her eyes away from Leia’s curved handwriting, her heart nearly jumped in her throat--Ben had moved from his position behind the counter and was standing right in front of her. It reminded her of that time when he first walked into Solo Cup Coffee, and silent as a cat, grabbed his large flat white and sat down.

Now, he was within inches of her personal space.

Unsure of what to do, especially with the man who she was undoubtedly attracted to in front of her, she nervously folded up the paper.

Before she could break the silence he asked, “Did you really not know?”

She opened her mouth like a fish, “Know what?”

“How much I’m into you.” He said it nonchalantly, like it was a fact and nothing more.

Speechless, she shook her head, but she couldn’t help the swell of happiness that bubbled in her chest.

Without taking his eyes off of her, he plucked the letter from her hand, only breaking eye contact to turn and set down the paper.

He turned back around, but he was met with Rey’s lips on his.

She wasn’t even sure of what she was doing. She had never even kissed a boy, let alone a man--man who was significantly taller, she thought, as she strained her tiptoes to keep her lips secured over his.

When she moved back to take a look at his dumbfounded expression, he followed her lips as she pulled away. She let out a huff of amusement before his left hand came up to cup her cheek while the other hooked itself at the back of her neck.

His lips slid over hers, warm and heavy and tasting like coffee beans. Rey smiled into the kiss when she pulled on his locks and he groaned. He broke the kiss shortly after that, and she opened her eyes to be melt with molten brown ones. Even though they had parted, his hands were still on her.

“Why did you always refuse my offers for coffee?” He mumbled, eyes transfixed on her.

“I work in a coffee shop, for God’s sake.”

“I was trying to flirt with you.”

“Then you were terrible at it.”

“Then can I take you out sometime?”

“It better not be to a coffeeshop one of your relatives owns.”

He threw his head back and laughed, and a wave of contentment washed over her. He leaned back down to kiss her again in the lowlight of the shop, his eyes twinkling and her heart singing.


End file.
